Consciousness and brain activity induced by psilocybin

Record summary

Carhart-Harris and colleagues used functional neuroimaging to study participants given psilocybin, reporting changes in activity and connectivity involving major brain networks during the acute psychedelic state. The study matters for consciousness research because subjective reports of unusual experience were compared with measurable changes in brain dynamics, challenging simple assumptions that heightened experience must reflect globally increased activity. It does not establish a single neural mechanism. Verify dose, imaging modality, sample size and the authors’ interpretation of deactivation findings.